


Broken Column

by foggynite



Series: The Hollow Man [2]
Category: Zoids (Anime & Toys)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, M/M, Minor Injuries, Pre-Series, Relationship Issues, Unresolved, ZOID battle, poor communication, pre-break-up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 04:21:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30083385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foggynite/pseuds/foggynite
Summary: The un-raveling of a relationship, one crack at a time.
Relationships: Brad/Leon
Series: The Hollow Man [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2205780
Kudos: 1





	Broken Column

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written sometime between 2002 and 2005. I think.
> 
> Title taken from T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land".

Heavy artillery fire, rapid bursts to his left and he dodged just barely. The Wolf 's gears groaned in protest, straining to keep up with the hurried commands inputted by a stoic yet stressed warrior. The Gun Sniper on the slight rise ahead had barely moved but carried more artillery than Leena and had better aim.

Another sharp twist, dodging to the left, and he was almost on the small hill, picking up speed and he released the fog cover once he was close enough. Not waiting for the fog to completely spread, he juked right and let loose with his own pattering of rounds. The Sniper system froze.

"Leon's in trouble, Brad," Jamie's concerned face on the view screen, young and anxious. It was only his second battle. "The Zaber Fang is too fast for the Liger to keep up. He can't get a clear shot in."

"I'm on it."

The weight of the controls in his hand were heavy and reassuring. The Wolf responded with practiced ease, and he could see Leon's Blade Liger firing on the other side of the ridge, backed up the incline at a precarious angle. The Fang was weaving around him, cocky after taking Leena out and wanting to have a bit of sport. Brad smirked.

He waited until Leon fired, aiming for the only dodge path available. The Fang twisted midair, though, and just its foreleg was hit, but not hard enough to take it out, only change its course. A vehement curse and he tried to regroup, but the Fang was a little too out of control, off balance and too close to the Liger.

The larger zoid was clipped in the shoulder, thrown to the right and staggering futilely for a moment until its legs crumbled with the rocky silt underneath. He winced at the screech of metal collapsing, watching helplessly as Leon rolled down the ridge with a horrible racket, breath sucked from his lungs.

An angry growl, and he fired repeatedly on the fallen Fang, shots lifting the zoid up and letting it crash down. Ignoring the judge, he picked his way through the ravaged path Leon left. Jamie was saying something, yelling at him or Leena or Doc, but it was just noise, background static he filtered out.

~~~

"Ow!" Leon pulled back quickly from Jamie's steady hand. "What the hell is that stuff?"

"Antibiotic. Now hold still," the dark-haired boy grumbled, inwardly wondering why he had to treat the elder Toros. At least he didn't have Leena as a patient.

Shuddering, he continued to dab at the superficial wounds along Leon's arm. The Liger had rolled, but luckily the harness had held, or they would have had some expensive medical bills. Unfortunately, Leon was in a terrible mood and being difficult. He had done nothing but scowl and snap for the past five minutes.

"Will you hold still?" He finally snarled, waving a cotton swab under his nose threateningly.

"Fine." Leon glared, starting to jiggle his leg. "What's up your butt, anyway?"

"That's it!" Jamie threw the bottle of antibiotic at his head and stormed out the door, only to return five seconds later, glare, and resume his work. Leon opened his mouth, but Jamie held up a hand.

"If you say one more word, I'll let Leena know why Brad bunks in your room."

Subsiding quickly, his patient glowered and stared at the counter in front of him. Glancing up, Jamie frowned, feeling guilty and cursing his unthinking words. The elder Toros sibling seemed despondent, withdrawn.

Jamie sighed. "Look, it was an accident. It couldn't have been avoided."

"He could have let me handle things." Quiet, subdued.

"You know that's not how Brad works." Jamie wondered when he became mediator between the two. All they did recently was argue.

"I know he's more concerned with his damn personal points than the safety of his teammates."

"That's not true, and you know it."

"Do I? I'm not sure I know him at all."

Jamie remained silent, unsure of how to respond. Covering the wounds with sticky plaster, he sat back and took a moment to study Leon's profile.

"If you're that unhappy, just let him know. He's observant about a lot of things, but everyone takes the people closest to them for granted."

A pause, then Leon muttered, "Thanks. I'll be in my room."

"No problem."

The room was empty sterile when Jamie decided to reorganize the medical supplies. After a moment, the feeling of being watched crept over him and he turned to the doorway. Brad was lounging against the jamb, staring unfocused at the empty exam table.

"He went back to his room."

A slight nod of acknowledgement and the door was abandoned.

"You’re welcome!"

~~~

The hangar was filled with shadows from the open elephant door, moon's light at a waning angle, and a slight breeze was coming in off the desert.

Brad didn't mind the chill as he furiously polished the chrome in the Command Wolf's cockpit. The worn leather seat was soft with oil, the accumulated sand and dirt was vacuumed off the floor, and the view screens were wiped down.

Part of him realized he was postponing the inevitable. The longer he took detailing his zoid, the less time for talking there would be when he returned to the room. He was cursing himself for agreeing to bunk with Leon, never mind there were two separate beds to be used. He wanted to be able to hole himself up somewhere and avoid the entire team for a while, let alone Leon.

He didn't need any guilt trips or lectures. Especially from his… His polishing faltered as he struggled to define his relationship with Leon. Lovers? Too romanticized. Fuckbuddies? Too harsh. Teammates? Too platonic.

They just were, dammit. And that had been good enough for him. He didn't want to be chained down with impossible promises. He needed to be able to pick up and leave whenever he wanted to.

So why were Leon's unhappy eyes constantly in his mind? Every spare moment he had, he found himself unconsciously contemplating ways to make the taller pilot relax or smile or look at him with the adoration he used to have. Maybe that was what hurt. He had to face the fact that Leon had outgrown him on the field, and now maybe off.

Why should he care if he was discarded? It had happened before. It was bound to happen in this-- relationship-- as well. Someone more attractive or wealthier or more skilled would come along, and that would be it. Leon would move on to the next challenge and Brad would look for another team.

So why couldn't he leave first?

Tossing the rag down as he jumped to the ground, the rangy pilot turned to look out the open doors once more. The stars were coming out, sky lit with purple and blue and black.

Why didn't he want to leave?

~~~

The room was pitch black, not even a light from the closet left on, as Leon was wont to do when he retired to bed earlier than him. Brad could hear the steady breathing of his partner but knew from the even pattern that Leon had yet to fall asleep.

Carefully, he felt his way to the spare, unused bunk on the left side of the room. The fight had finally caught up with him and he found himself bone weary, dizzy with exhaustion. He stripped down to bare skin, a habit that had never even occurred to him until Leon, but a testament to his security in the heavily guarded compound. Even Leena couldn't get through the room's door when it was locked from within.

Repressing a tired yawn, he stretched out on cool sheets, the soft cotton still pressed after being laundered weeks ago. With his eyes closed and body silent, his remaining senses seemed to focus all the more intently on the soft breaths across the room. A chill came over him and he pulled the light sheet over his chest.

A rustle from the other bed and he froze unwillingly.

"Do you want to come over?" Soft voice, sleepy but not unaware of his movements.

"Your injuries?" Brad's own voice was rough from disuse, a near growl in the quiet.

"Just a few bumps and scrapes. Nothing major."

"Alright."

Before he could stop his feet from moving, he was gingerly stepping over to their bed. Another rustle and he sank slowly onto the edge, gauging where Leon's limbs were resting. His body melded perfectly against the taller pilot, shoulder flush beneath his arm, legs entwined. Leon's chin rested on his sinewy collarbone, lips pressed at the base of his neck, and the moist breath heated his chest comfortably.

The silence was different than usual, less expecting and more resigned. He shifted until he was facing the open air, Leon's moist breath becoming more scorching than reassuring on his bare chest and now his back. As he lay on his side, his right arm reached for the edge of the bed, gripping.

Leon nestled behind him, flat chest pressed to Brad's back, hips and semi-hard cock snug against the cleft of his ass. Wordlessly, Brad pushed back towards him, using the pressure of his tailbone to state his interest.

Leon's hot mouth closed on the side of his neck, not really sucking, not really biting, just a gentle sign of connection. Brad could feel his own cock swelling, even with his exhaustion still prominent, but he needed this languid seduction to ease the pressure roiling in his chest.

Slowly, Leon began grinding his hips forward, pushing the velvet tip of his cock closer to Brad's entrance with each thrust. It was almost teasing in the sweet ache that built up, until Brad was writhing just for any touch, just to get it over with, just to feel the relief of having Leon buried inside him.

Without missing a beat, complying with the unspoken request, Leon reached behind him to the nightstand and pulled a small tube from the drawer. The cap popping open was loud in the silence of their short breath, and Brad couldn't help tensing when Leon shifted his hips back, slick fingers finding his puckered entrance with remembered ease. The warmth of the flesh pressed against his shoulder blades contrasted sharply with the cold fingers inside him, but gradually he adjusted as Leon pushed faster, building an aching heat inside him.

The fingers withdrew and the bed creaked a little as Leon shifted their legs, using the distraction of his fingers on jutting hip bones to slowly push his way in. Brad gripped the edge of the bed harder, holding his breath, fingers curling around the wire under the padding as he jerked backwards, urging Leon to go faster. Complying, the other pilot pulled back and slammed in forcefully, ignoring Brad's involuntary gasp as he was invaded, filled, consumed.

A slick hand gripped Brad's flagging cock, renewing its interest in the proceedings and pumping it hard with calloused fingers that had once been more used to manipulating machines than flesh. Biting his lip to keep from groaning aloud, Brad arched his head into his pillow, feeling his muscles beginning to tense as a tingling spread out from his balls. Almost there. So close to something he could not name, and he wanted to forget everything in the burst of grey- white-black that filled his vision and muffled the outside world.

Another thrust, then two, and Leon's hold on his hip tightened painfully, a fierce burning flooding Brad's ass. For a moment, they just lay there spent, breathing harsh and panting, flushed bodies sliding together with salty sweat.

Wordlessly, Leon pulled away, diminished cock slipping easily from Brad and leaving him feel empty, incomplete. The cold play of air across his back made him shiver, and he accepted the tissues Leon pressed into his hand. Cleaning himself up in the darkness was an oddly detached sensation, and he ran his hand along the sheets to check for any wetness. Swiping again with a new tissue, he lay back down, exhausted.

Waiting for him to get settled, Leon fluffed his own pillow, then curled around the shorter pilot. Resting his hand on the heavy arm holding him still, Brad yawned and burrowed deeper into his pillow, trying to ignore the twinge beneath his ribs.

This was how they slept each night, wrapped around each other and waiting for something.

Brad was never sure what.

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr


End file.
